Plug-And-Play Cochlear Electrode Array - Diversity Supplement.

项目总结/摘要 全世界约有4.66亿人患有听力损失。当传统的听力 艾滋病没有明显的好处，人工耳蜗是一个解决办法。目前的人工耳蜗， 有益于它们的使用，但是由于手工组装成束的电极阵列，它们的能力受到限制。手 组装成本非常高，劳动密集型，不足以实施新的战略， 耳鼻喉科提高语音识别和音乐欣赏。 MEMStim LLC提出了一种即插即用的先进制造解决方案，该解决方案严重依赖3D打印。 通过印刷导电和非导电硅树脂，生物相容性可插拔阵列可以印刷成任何尺寸， 长度、形状或厚度，从几微米到几十毫米。最重要的是，综合 连接器通过新颖的微型插座技术容易地插入刺激器。微型插座是 兼容并直接滑到馈通引脚上。打印机分辨率可输出可插拔连接器 与引脚间距小于100 μ m（边缘到边缘）的引脚兼容， 小型化 3D打印的软弹性体阵列与线束耳蜗植入物的不同之处在于， 坚硬且更容易受到应变微小变化的影响[添加参考文献？]。它们属于 被称为"生物电子"的设备，其杨氏模量（100 Pa-10MPa）在大多数情况下都在 生物物质，如神经组织。由于这种差异，候选人将加强我们的情况下， FDA和耳蜗制造商本身通过进行进一步的电气和机械 测试以证明应变下的功能性和耐久性。这些测试也会帮助我们更好地 了解其他神经刺激器的即插即用阵列的耐用性和可靠性限制 应用领域，如脊髓刺激器和深部脑刺激器。

Project Summary/Abstract Worldwide, approximately 466 million people suffer from disabling hearing loss. When conventional hearing aids provide no appreciable benefit, cochlear implants are a solution. Current cochlear implants, while beneficial in their use, are limited in their capabilities by hand-assembly of wire-bundled electrode arrays. Hand assembly is very costly, extremely labor-intensive, and inadequate in implementing new strategies in Otolaryngology for improving speech recognition and music appreciation. MEMStim LLC proposes a plug-and-play advanced-manufacturing solution that relies heavily on 3D printing. By printing conductive and nonconductive silicones, biocompatible pluggable arrays can be printed to any size, length, shape or thickness, from several microns to tens of millimeters. Most importantly, the integrated connectors plug readily onto stimulators by way of a novel micro-socket technology. The micro-sockets are compatible and slide right onto the feedthrough pins. The printer resolution can output pluggable connectors that are compatible with pin-to-pin pitches smaller than 100 μm (edge-to-edge), allowing for enhanced miniaturization. The 3D printed soft elastomeric arrays differ from wire-bundle cochlear implants in that they are less stiff and more susceptible to small changes in strain [add reference?]. They fall within a category of devices called “bioelectronics”, which have a Young’s Modulus (100 Pa-10MPa) in the range of most biological matter such as nerve tissue. Due to this difference, the candidate will strengthen our case to the FDA and cochlear manufacture’s themselves by conducting further electrical and mechanical tests to prove the functionality and durability under strain. The tests will also help us better understand the durability and reliability limits of our plug-and-play arrays for other neurostimulator application areas, such as spinal cord stimulators and deep brain stimulators.